Family refuses to turn over pit bull that bit 5-year-old boy

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»Play VideoKATU News has digitized the wound the boy received because it is so disturbing.

LONGVIEW, Wash. - People here are on a desperate search to find a pit bull that attacked a child, badly injuring him.

The owners of the dog showed no remorse Friday for the 5-year-old, and they are still hiding their dog.

"I'm not going to give up a dog that's pregnant," said one of the dog's owners, 18-year-old Nik Vasquez. "It's like my best friend. I'm not going to just give it up."

It is crucial to get this dog because it has not had its rabies vaccinations, and the little boy will now have to go through a very painful series of shots to make sure he doesn't get the viral disease.

The dog attacked the boy in a Longview neighborhood Sunday afternoon while he was riding his bike. Families who live in the neighborhood said they live in fear of this dog.

The massive chunk the dog took out of the boy's right leg looks like a shark bite.

To make matters worse the owners refuse to tell Humane Society officers and police where the dog is now.

Vasquez argued that the boy was kicking at his dog and throwing rocks at it.

But Vasquez' neighbor, Greg Barnett, told a different story, saying, "I've never seen that. I have never seen that, no."

Neighbors also said the dog is vicious and attacks without being provoked.

Additionally, there is not supposed to be a dog like that in the apartment the Vasquez' live in, according to the complex's policy.

The officers said Vasquez gave the Humane Society a rabies-shot record after the pit bull bit a man by the name of Robert Parker in the knee in April, but they said it was forged.

A Cowlitz County Humane Society officer said Kimberly Vasquez' name was on those documents along with the forged signature of a local veterinarian.

Vasquez, who has a long criminal record of forgeries and thefts for which she was sentenced to more than two years in prison, said she didn't forge the rabies record. She said someone else did and gave it to her, but she would not say who that was.

Nik Vasquez said he didn't know if the dog ever had any shots.

Neighbors said they are fed up with the family and their dog scaring everyone. Mike Baker said the dog has bared its teeth, chased him and his two small children back into their apartment.

The Humane Society has turned over all of its records to the Cowlitz County prosecuting attorney's office.

The landlord said the apartment is not even rented to the Vasquezes but to another woman. The landlord is posting a 72-hour notice telling everyone in that apartment to get out along with their dog.